Toyota’s Love letter to North Texas
On Thursday, January 29, Toyota joined the North Texas Commission to kick off the TO THE POINT series presented by Fidelity Investments for the 2015 season. The sold-out audience included organizations such as AllianceTexas – a Hillwood Property, AT&T, the Dallas Business Journal and DFW International Airport all wanting to give the Japanese car manufacturer a big Texas welcome to our region. CEO of Toyota Motor Engineering & Manufacturing North America, Simon Nagata presented as the luncheon keynote and laid out the long list of reasons why Toyota chose to move to their North American headquarters to North Texas. His wife became North Texas’s biggest advocate because of our diverse and vivacious shopping scene.
Mr. Nagata spoke enthusiastically about the climate in North Texas, referring to both the warm weather and the positive business climate. After relocating from Michigan, Mr. Nagata laid out a clear vision to bring the Toyota headquarters under one roof. Collaboration is key to success, and he firmly believes this consolidation will allow them to work better as a team and respond to changing market places. For the first time in public, he unveiled the architectural rendering for their new home in Plano. This environmentally friendly campus will house more than 4,000 Toyota employees.
He looks forward to settling in with a host of global corporate neighbors such as Pepsi-co, American Airlines, and ExxonMobil. Adding that he was dedicated to making Toyota a good corporate citizen especially after the warm reception that North Texas gave many survivors of the 2011 Japanese earthquake and tsunami by hosting youth through the Tomodachi initiative. Toyota reciprocated the gesture by donating six Texas-made Toyota Tundras to the City of Plano and a $1 million dollar donation to Plano ISD.
North Texas Commission President and CEO, Mabrie Jackson, summed up Toyota’s relocation perfectly, “It’s a home run for the region.” With an expected $7 billion over the next 10 years and the 4,000 jobs that come with the move, North Texas is thrilled to have Toyota call us home.
Join Us for our Next TO THE POINT
Be sure to join us for TO THE POINT: The State of Healthcare presented by Fidelity Investments on Thursday, April 23 as a part of the 2015 North Texas Healthcare Summit. CLICK HERE to register and for additional details.